I Like You, I Love You
by HetaWriter - HetaReader
Summary: Antonio isn't exactly the sharpest when it comes to reading the atmosphere – he doesn't make an effort at all. Poor Matthew tries to lay down hints to the handsome Spaniard, but to no avail and soon gets discouraged. What could he do now to reveal his feelings to Antonio? AU, Waiter!Spain x Student!Canada, rated T for Lovino's mouth.


_Hello, HetaWriter/HetaReader here. My sister suggested to post this online - it's the first shonen-ai I've ever written. I am guilty of liking this crack: Canada x Spain – I think it's adorable. It'd be funny if Himaruya did a comic where Spain, the most oblivious nation, actually notices Canada and everyone's like, "What the hell?" ["Oh, hola Canada!" "H-huh? Oh, hi Spain…" "Spain, who are you talking to?"]. Lovino and Matthew as best friends is a head cannon of mine – they're both overshadowed by a sibling and seen as unassuming by many people, plus France and Spain are good friends, so I naturally assume that they've at least introduced the two younger nations together._

_Because music is a huge part of my life, this was inspired by the song "I Like You, I Love You" by Kagamine Rin. Rin and Canada/Matthew had too many likenesses there. There was even a video where instead of Rin, it was Canada singing._

_Anyway, hope you enjoy!_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia or the song._

* * *

"H-hey! Antonio, c-could you wait a minute?" Matthew cursed the stutter in his voice as he called to the waiter who was walking to another table.

Antonio turned around to face the blonde, smiling through lovely pearly whites that contrasted well with his sun-kissed skin and mocha-coloured locks. He was apparently writing down orders for two girls on the booth nearby, both clearly smitten by the handsome Spaniard.

Seeing the two girls shoot annoyed glances in Matthew's direction, the blonde then shook his head quickly, nervously adding, "I-I mean if you're not busy! Sorry…"

Antonio gave a cheerful laugh as he shook his head, "No, no Mateo; I have enough time to talk to you. So, what is it?"

"Um…" Matthew squeezed his polar bear plushie, Kumajiji, tighter to himself, feeling the glares from the two girls attempt to burn holes in his head. "A-Ah…n-never mind…maybe later?"

"Yes, why don't you talk later? You still have to get our orders," one of the girls smiled sweetly at the Spaniard, her friend following suit. This action disgusted Matthew a lot as he could see through their artificially glossed lips. However, Antonio didn't seem to detect the underlying hostility towards the girl at all and gave a good natured laugh.

"I'm sorry there, _señorita_!" he apologized as his pen poised at the ready. "Now, what did you want?"

Matthew slumped back on his seat as he sighed, blowing the stray curl that protruded from his head out of his line of vision. This café was a nice place with great food and a warm, bright atmosphere, but obviously, that wasn't the reason why the blonde came there in the first place nowadays.

The reason was Antonio Fernandez Carriedo.

Matthew wasn't sure when his crush on the Spaniard even started, but when his best friend since middle school, Lovino – a moody and usually grouchy Italian with a trucker's mouth – one day brought him home, the blonde was introduced to Antonio, his cousin who had recently moved from Madrid.

Already then, Matthew thought of the Spaniard as one of the most gorgeous people he had ever met and blushed profoundly. This caused a laugh from Antonio who ruffled his hair. "Aww your face looks just like a tomato, Mateo~!" he cooed.

Matthew almost fainted if it hadn't been for Lovino interrupting, "Leave him alone _bastardo_! The last thing I need is you becoming as much of a pervert as that stupid wine bastard!"

Antonio had only responded with another chuckle as he laid his hand off of Matthew's head. The blonde was surprised that he felt disappointed by the lack of it. The Spaniard grinned at Lovino, "_Lo siento_, Lovi~!" he then switched his gaze to Matthew who had tensed again. "_Lo siento_, Mateo~! I can't help it! You're just so cute!"

Matthew's face became an unhealthier shade of red, _'C-cute?!'_

"Go flirt to some simple minded bastard," snorted Lovino. "Mateo and I have to study for our stupid math exam!"

"_Si_, _si_ of course!" Antonio grinned and continued on his way to the back. "I'll just be out back if you need me! See you later Mateo~!"

That was two years ago in their sophomore year. Ever since then, Matthew would shyly watch Antonio from afar, hiding his face behind Kumarico. Whenever he went to Lovino's house, Antonio was always there either picking tomatoes in the garden or cooking. Always though, he would smile and greet Matthew and they would even have a conversation. He was so cheerful and kind.

Sometimes Antonio wouldn't be at Lovino's house and that made Matthew a tad bit disappointed. When he asked Lovino where his cousin was, the Italian shrugged, "The hell am I supposed to know? Probably went off for his job or with his perverted bastard friends."

'_So he has a job…'_ Matthew was wondering where Antonio worked at and had questioned Lovino again. The Italian responded that his cousin worked part-time at a café as a waiter, but he either didn't bother to ask or remember what the name of it was or had simply forgotten it. Matthew again felt disappointed with the lack of that little detail and after school, went off to the mall and to the inside of a little coffee shop just for a drink.

Imagine his surprise when he was greeted by, "Oh! _Hola _Mateo! What would you like?"

He was met by a warm smile and glowing green eyes.

Ever since then, Matthew began to frequently come to the café. He would order something and watch Antonio work. The Spaniard moved quickly but never lost that bout of grace in his speedy deliveries.

His figure was perfect in every chisel and form – not too slim, not too fat. His face was unblemished – no signs of a boil or such anywhere. He was very well toned and muscular, but not so much that it was repulsive. His shoulders were strong and broadened enough, and his legs were lean and long. Meanwhile, his hips finely carved as well as his posterior…

Matthew flushed as he shook his head, almost hitting himself for such a thought entering his mind as Antonio caught him staring and flashed him a grin. _'Mon dieu! I can't believe I'm getting influenced by cousin Francis!' _he thought as he buried his face in his bear's fur. Taking a deep breath, he called out:

"Just a moment…hey, wait please, Antonio…"

The Spaniard stopped and turned around to face Matthew again, smiling. "Yes, Mateo? What is it?" he chirped.

Matthew held his polar bear plushie closer to his shaky body as he cleared his throat and answered, "I…I want to talk to you."

Antonio nodded, "Okay! But first, let me give those girls their orders." He jerked his thumb in direction to the two girls who were again glaring daggers at Matthew for hogging the Spaniard's attention. Antonio was still oblivious to the hostile atmosphere.

The blonde weakly smiled back as he nodded and watched Antonio's retreating form serve the two girls their drinks. He again buried his head in his trusty polar bear's fur. _'What can I do? What's the point?'_ he thought miserably to himself as he heard Antonio's tinkling laugh again.

He was so wrapped in his ongoing thoughts that he hadn't realized Antonio sit on the booth opposite him. The Spaniard grinned as he reached out to touch Matthew's sleeve, causing the blonde to give a small squeak and jump a little. Antonio laughed, "Don't worry, Mateo! It's just me! Aw~ you're so red! Like a tomato again! It's so cute!"

Matthew rubbed the side of his head and pushed his glasses up his nose. He licked his lips as Antonio asked the inevitable question, "So, what did you want to talk about?"

The blonde opened his mouth, but no words came out. Antonio was giving him a look of sheer curiosity, causing Matthew to become even more nervous than before. He felt sweat pop out from the sides of his head as his mouth opened and closed like that of a fish. Eventually, he spluttered something out, but it wasn't what the blonde had wanted.

"Um…what game should we play?"

Antonio blinked, looking utterly confused. "_Qué_? Game?"

"Y-yeah game…" Matthew gave a lopsided smile as his heart sank at the perplexed expression on the Spaniard's handsome face. _'He's gonna think I'm such an idiot now,'_ he thought in dismay.

To his surprise, the same cheery smile spread onto Antonio's face and the Spaniard laughed, "A game, huh? Okay, what kind of game should we play? Ah~ I'm not sure since I don't have much time…something quick?"

"Um…" Matthew couldn't believe that Antonio had gone along with the whole thing; he was seriously _that_ oblivious? "A word game?"

So that was what the two had done for a little while. Antonio had a word in mind and Matthew tried to guess it. Right now, the Spaniard was giggling as he watched the blonde attempt to guess his new word in amusement.

"Um…" the blonde's face scrunched up into a thoughtful expression, which Antonio thought was very adorable. "Daqui…_ri_? _Rin_?" Seeing the Spaniard's smile, Matthew shook his head and tried again, "Daqui…Daquiri?" when Antonio's smile grew wider, the blonde sighed and slumped himself down on the table, "I'm sorry…I'm not very good at this…"

Antonio however chuckled and shook his head, "What are you talking about? You're really good! That was my word!"

Matthew stared at him in surprise but felt his heart clench when the Spaniard stood up, "I should be getting back to work," he said. "We should play more after my shift! Later, Mateo!"

And so Matthew sat and waited for the Spaniard's shift to be over. He finished reading his Physics text book and saw, after an hour later, the Spaniard now dressed in normal attire, beckoning him towards the door. The blonde followed quite eagerly.

As they walked out in the sunshine, they started chatting, though it was actually Antonio who was doing most of the talking. Matthew would smile shyly and listen closely to his every word, however he felt that he should say something too, otherwise Antonio might get bored of him. They were walking past a woman who was selling churros and Matthew could see that the Spaniard's attention was on the sweet treats; he was even drooling slightly. Seeing this, Matthew decided to take the initiative.

"Are you hungry?" he asked Antonio. "Do you want something to eat?"

Antonio snapped his attention back to Matthew and smiled, "Ah I wish I could eat one, but I usually like drinking something after doing so. I could do with some tomato juice or some water with a churro."

Matthew shook his head, "Um…I don't have any water or tomato juice…"

After that, Antonio ended up buying them both churros and even two bottles of water. They sat by the fountain and enjoyed the tasty treats, commencing with their chat. Once they were finished, Antonio offered to walk Matthew home as it was starting to get dark.

Matthew instantly felt his cheeks redden but didn't turn down the offer, hoping that he could finally speak without stuttering like an idiot. Unfortunately, that was not to be on their trip homeward bound. Time passed by too quickly and Matthew soon found himself at his porch, waving goodbye to Antonio.

He gave a sigh as he buried his head in his pillow; Kumanoko was sitting next to him. Maybe tomorrow he'd have better luck – he was going to Lovino's house in hopes of finishing their History assignments that were due the day after.

"Oi bastard! Take your eyes off the damn screen and help us out for a moment, dammit!" Lovino snapped at his cousin as he and Matthew stood right behind him with the sheet that described their History assignment.

Matthew nervously shuffled in his spot as he watched Antonio rock his head, some blares of guitar music spouting from his headphones. Lovino angrily went up to him and punched him on the head, causing the Spaniard to yelp and almost fall out of his chair. By this time though, Matthew decided to walk back into the Italian's room, more nervous than ever.

'_I…I think…I have to distance myself a bit…maybe…' _

Despite that, Matthew couldn't tear his eyes away from Antonio when he came into the room grinning with a grouchy Lovino behind him who was still cursing with a crumpled sheet of paper. The Spaniard helped them with their projects (the Spanish Inquisition and the Armada). He sat close to Matthew and asked what he needed help with.

Matthew opened his mouth but his throat had run dry and he found himself unable to speak. He attempted a couple of times, but to no avail. Antonio had instantly gone to the kitchen to retrieve the blonde a glass of water while Lovino stayed in the room.

The blonde sighed and shook his head. _'What am I going to do with Antonio?'_ he wondered.

"Mateo," Lovino sighed. "You still like Antonio?"

Matthew had told Lovino about his crush on his cousin only a week after it happened. The Italian responded at first with shock, then after a few minutes later from registering that piece of information in his mind, suddenly exploded in a fit of laughter accompanied by a bout of swears, though to who, Matthew wasn't sure – Lovino was gasping in between swear words and almost crying from laughter. Ever since he told the Italian, he had been getting some rare words of encouragement and a bit of advice, but nothing seemed to be working now. He told him what Antonio had liked, what he'd do at certain times…

Back at present, Matthew nodded, face completely flushed.

Lovino sighed and shook his head as he hesitantly patted the blonde's back, "Geez… you got it bad for that tomato bastard."

Matthew nodded.

Lovino then decided to talk to Matthew about it over Messenger since it was obvious that the blonde wasn't up to talking then. Also, they didn't forget of Antonio's presence.

Later that night, Matthew and Lovino were contacting each other via Messenger and here, the blonde retold everything that happened to the Italian – the café, the girls interested in him, them playing a word game…everything.

Matthew typed: **It's no good; you see…it's as scary as ever! I don't know **_**what**_** to say to him! I want to tell him how I feel, but why is it so hard? **

Lovino rolled his eyes as he typed a response: **You know what? Screw this shit, just tell him, dammit! He needs to know! Him actually playing a word game when you screwed up just proves that he's really too stupid to realize anything! The only way for him to know now is if you told it to his dumb face! Don't worry, I'm still fine with it – just don't make out or any of that shit in front of me! You hear?! Chigi!**

A week had passed since that last email exchange and Matthew was a pile of nerves. He tried hard to confess his feelings to the oblivious Spaniard, but nothing seemed to work as the only thing that escaped from his lips was unintelligible garble. Lovino tried to encourage his best friend to go forward and, at first, Matthew _would _have the confidence to commence, however it soon flew out of the window upon Antonio's bright smile and glowing green eyes.

He just couldn't do it.

After school one day, Matthew went over to the café again and called after Antonio. "H-hey! Antonio, could you wait a minute?" seeing that again, he had interrupted the Spaniard from taking down orders, this time from a group of girls who were curiously looking at him, the blonde hastily added, "That is if you're not busy…sorry…"

Antonio smiled at the blonde again as a blonde Belgian woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere to take the orders from the group of girls. The Belgian woman gave a cat-like grin to the Spaniard and Matthew as Antonio thanked her and made his way over to Matthew.

"What is it, Mateo?" he asked.

"Um…I want to talk to you," said Matthew. Again, the blonde felt a sense of déjà vu when Antonio placed himself opposite the blonde and rested his chin in his hand, still smiling at him. _'What can I do now?' _Matthew thought to himself in a panic. _'Oh…what's the point?' _his confidence immediately deteriorated upon gazing at the handsome man before him.

"Another game?"

Matthew was woken from his inner turmoil. He shook his head and gazed at him, "H-huh?"

"You want to play another game, do you?" Antonio questioned, still smiling. Seeing the blonde give a slow nod, the Spaniard laughed, "I knew it! Okay! What game shall we play this time, _mi amigo_?"

"Um…" Matthew felt his heart sink at the last two words that escaped from Antonio's lovely lips. _'Mi amigo…my friend…he might just think of me as a friend…'_ nevertheless, the blonde had to respond. "Um…ro-rock paper scissors!" he exclaimed, making a 'V' shape with his fingers while holding securely onto his bear with the other.

And that was what the pair of them did for a little while. After a while, Matthew sighed and slumped in his chair again, "I'm sorry…" he apologized. "I'm…I know I'm pretty boring…"

Antonio shook his head, "Not at all! That was fun! We should do it again after my shift! See you then, Mateo!"

And again, after Antonio's break, Matthew and the Spaniard were at the fountain on the bench, eating churros and drinking water from the same vendor as before. Matthew was looking sadly at his reflection as he ate his churro. He found that he wasn't hungry anymore and he sighed.

Seeing the blonde look so distraught, Antonio stopped eating and sat up in a more upright position. "Mateo, what's wrong?" he asked, voice soft and lined with concern.

Matthew almost jumped from the Spaniard's question but shook his head, "N-no…it's nothing…"

Antonio placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder and shook his head, "No, no, no, it's _not_ nothing. I don't like it when my friends are sad, Mateo. Please, tell me what's wrong. Are you not feeling well?"

Deciding that that was the closest that the Spaniard was ever going to get to determining his feelings, Matthew nodded. He licked his lips as he added, "It's…it's kind of a weird feeling…sorry…but um…I wanted to hear…err…"

"Hear what?"

Matthew inwardly sighed. _'Here we go again…what do I do?' _he was about to finally say to the Spaniard what he was feeling for such a long time now but again, something was holding him back. _'No good…it's still as scary as ever…'_ instead, he shook his head. "It's nothing…don't worry."

Antonio was very concerned at this stage, but decided not to press any further – Mateo didn't want to talk about it, so he shouldn't force him. Mateo would tell him when he felt like it.

This disappointed the Spaniard greatly – didn't Mateo trust him?

At school the next day, Lovino was frustrated that his best friend had chickened out yet again. He listened closely as to the events that happened the day before when Matthew hung out with his cousin again. By the time his best friend had finished retelling him the event, Lovino was rubbing his head, annoyed while Matthew buried his face in Kumamarie's fur.

"I want to tell him how I feel…I want to tell him so much…but every time I try to, I can't! Why is it so hard?"

"Least you're being fucking honest," sighed Lovino as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "That counts for something…"

"Why is it so hard? I really want to tell him, but…I just…I just can't!"

"You know what? That fucking does it!" Lovino jumped to his feet, much to Matthew's shock. "I'm sick and tired of you moping! Ever since you told me about your crush on my stupid cousin, you've been acting like a lovesick high school girl! It's about time you grew some balls and finally confess to that fucking tomato bastard otherwise _I'm_ telling him myself!"

Matthew was slightly dazed after hearing his best friend's rant and was horrified when he realized the last part of Lovino's tirade. "W-what?! No! Lovino, p-please don't!"

The Italian snorted, "Fine! But after school, _you're_ fucking telling him and that's final! I've had enough of you acting like a pussy and bitching about it! It's fucking depressing and it's been _two_ damn years already!"

Matthew felt his stomach twist and turn but nodded at his best friend. This time, he _will _seriously try.

Right away, after school, Matthew took Lovino to the café where Antonio was working at. The Spaniard greeted the both of them with a surprised look, seeing that they were together. However that shocked expression quickly changed into a crooked smile to the two boys, watching them very closely as he took orders from other customers.

It was here that Lovino realized why his cousin was acting so weirdly right now; he smirked to himself, feeling smug that he was certain of the situation as he took the seat opposite Matthew.

Antonio gave a forced smile and said with a slight strain in his voice, "It's nice to see that Lovi has a cute and wonderful boyfriend like you, Mateo."

"W-what?!" Matthew was shocked at the suggestion while Lovino couldn't help but give a dark chuckle as Antonio took out his pen and notepad, ready to write down their orders. The Spaniard's emerald eyes were now down and focused on the pad and paper, which struck the blonde as odd – he always looked at his customers whenever he wrote the orders…accompanied with a brighter smile than the one he wore now.

"I…I-I…I…" Matthew was stuttering like crazy, much to Lovino's annoyance. Antonio was now staring at the blonde, wondering as to what he was going to say. "Hey Antonio, you are…um…"

'_Spit it out already, Mateo!' _Lovino thought, getting irritated. _'Though you're a shy bastard, you _do _actually have balls! You proved it when you were able to kick the asses of those bastards that stole my tomato with a hockey stick! But now here you're acting like a pussy! Come on, just tell my stupid cousin and get it over with!'_

Noticing that Lovino was becoming increasingly exasperated and Antonio was still waiting, Matthew shook his head as he apologized, "I-I'm sorry…wait!" he quickly added when Antonio was about to write down something on his pad.

Again, Matthew tried again, "I-I…um…hey…Antonio, you're the one that I li…"

"_Qué_?" Antonio looked at the blonde curiously. "What is it, Mateo?"

"Honestly, I, um…" Matthew was inwardly cursing himself to such an extent that it would put Lovino to shame if said out loud. Why did he have to stutter so much? "I, um…um…hey…you're um…I…" he took another deep breath while the two cousins waited. "Sorry, wait…umm, I…you're the one that…!"

"Huh?"

"You're the one that I…" Matthew tried again, feeling his tongue roll over. "I, to you…" and before he knew it, he began stuttering like mad. "I-I…I-I…I-I, I-I…" he sighed as he slapped his forehead, knowing that he must have sounded like a broken record. "Sorry…I forgot…"

Lovino seethed, annoyed at this point that his best friend was chickening out again and was glaring at him angrily. Antonio himself looked…disappointed? The Spaniard nodded as he forced a smile on his face again, "I see. I understand then, _adios_ _mi hermano, adios _Mateo…"

No sooner had he turned around, when Matthew suddenly cried out after him, "No! Antonio, wait!"

The Spaniard instantly spun around while Lovino looked slightly surprised by the blonde's sudden outburst.

The blonde began stuttering all over again, "I-I…I-I, I-I, I-I, I-I…I…I…I-I…oh maple!" and with that, with his eyes tightly squeezed shut, Matthew Williams shouted right at the Spanish waiter, "Antonio! I like, no…I love you!"

A stunned silence immediately hung in the air right after Matthew's confession. Lovino was both satisfied yet surprised that his best friend was able to finally spit out his feelings and was watching Antonio closely for a reaction. Poor Matthew himself was panting; his face fully flushed and, upon realizing what he just said, buried his face into Kuma-what's-his-name's fur as if he were attempting to suffocate himself.

Antonio was silent from the whole thing, his face uncharacteristically blank. He was gazing down at Matthew with a pensive expression and began scribbling something down on his notepad. He walked away and for a moment, when Matthew looked up, he was afraid that he had scared or disgusted the Spaniard into fleeing, but felt slightly hopeful when Antonio returned with a tray that had a glass of water and an espresso on it.

Placing the tray down, Antonio then broke the tense air with a radiant smile, though the two boys couldn't tell whether he was returning the blonde's confession or not. It didn't make things better when he spoke three words to the pair as he turned tail.

"Enjoy your drinks!"

Matthew immediately felt his eyes grew moist; he had blown everything.

Lovino shifted uncomfortably in his seat; he wanted to say something to his best friend, seeing that he was close to tears, but honestly he didn't know _what_ to say. Instead, he stayed quiet and silently sipped his espresso, contemplating on what he should say in a situation like this – he could curse out his cousin…

Suddenly, when Matthew reached for his glass of water, he was surprised to see a piece of paper folded underneath it. Curious, the blonde reached for it with shaky hands and unfolded it, eyes widening at the contents.

_About time you told me! I was scared you didn't feel the same way! How about a movie and dinner after my shift? My treat. Te amo, mi amor bonito! ;D_

_- Antonio_

Seeing the smile quickly form onto Matthew's face and his cousin humming from behind the counter, Lovino smirked as he sipped his espresso.

Unbeknownst to the three boys, the Belgian waitress had seen everything while serving a Hungarian woman at a booth nearby. Both were trying to cover their squeals as the pair eagerly looked at the Belgian's green cell-phone.

"You got it, right? Oh please tell me you got it, Em!"

"Yes! Here it is, Lizzie! Aha! Aw~ they're so cute! Finally he told him how he felt!"

"Yeah, I know! I mean, it was just _so _obvious!"

_**THE END**_

* * *

_Is it odd that I'm a guy who's perfectly straight, yet at the same time, likes writing this sort of thing? My sister doesn't ever want me to change (yaoi fangirl). I prefer fluffy shonen-ai though. (I can't handle hard core or smut). Well, I'll still be glad to show my works._

_Have a nice day! :DDD_


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